Context

The centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha were jointly inaugurated by Kerala and Tamil Nadu state government. The centenary celebrations are going to last for 603 days.

Background (the old belief)

• Back then, the people of the oppressed classes especially the Ezhavas, were prohibited from walking on the four roads surrounding the Vaikom Mahadeva temple.
• Avarnas — those without caste or ‘untouchables’ — had no right to set foot in the premises of Vaikom Mahadeva Temple or any other Brahmanical house of worship in Kerala, the country Parashurama claimed from the sea for the delight of the Brahmanas.
  

The Satyagraha:

• Vaikom Satyagraha lasted for 604 days (20 months) from March 30, 1924 to November 23, 1925.
• It was a mass Temple entry movement for lower caste people.
• Leaders involved:
  • Led by: TK Madhavan, KP Kesava Menon, K Kelapaan (Congress Leaders)
  • Supported by: Mahatma Gandhi, Periyar, C Rajagopalachari, Chattampi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru
• The nonviolent movement demanded the right of members of lower castes to walk on the roads leading to the Vaikom Temple, now in the district of Kottayam.
• The authorities denied their request, stating that it would lead to social unrest and disturbance.
• This denial was met with widespread protests and demonstrations, which eventually led to the involvement of Mahatma Gandhi, who arrived in Vaikom in 1925.
• Gandhi was able to iron out a compromise: three out of the four roads surrounding the temples were opened up for everyone but the fourth, eastern road was kept reserved for Brahmins.
• Outcome: The protests eventually led to the historic Temple Entry Proclamation issued by the then king Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma on November 12, 1936. It abolished the ban on 'lower castes' from entering Hindu temples in the Princely State of Travancore.

Understanding the social context of Travancore (at the dawn of the 20th century):

• Back then, the princely state of Travancore had a “feudal, militaristic, and ruthless system of custom-ridden government”.
• In Travancore, the idea of caste pollution worked not only on the basis of touch but also sight.
  • This was documented by travellers such as Portuguese Duarte Barbosa who wrote in his memoirs, “When (upper caste Nairs) walk along a street, they shout to the low caste folk to get out of their way, this they do and if one will not, the Nairs may kill him.”
• However, in the second half of the 19th century, a number of social and political developments would usher in social change much faster than ever before.
  • First, Christian missionaries, supported by the East India Company, had expanded their reach and many lower castes converted to Christianity to escape the clutches of an oppressive system that continued to bind them.
  • Second, westernised Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal undertook many progressive reforms took place because of pressure from the British Resident.
    • Most important of these was the introduction of a modern education system with frees primary education for all – even lower castes.
  • Third, forces of capitalism and these reforms created new social hierarchies – which were not always congruent with traditional ones.